In a post on the Stage 32 blog, Erin Leigh says that clone characters can provide extra dimensions to your main characters’ personalities and motivations. “A ‘clone character’ is a storytelling device used when one character represents another, illuminating some aspect of their self or journey,” she writes. “These characters act as a mirror or shadow image, reflecting what the protagonist could become based on the choices they make.”
These characters often serve as a cautionary tale – the kind of person your hero may become if he’s not careful – but they can also be portrayed as rivals or heroes, the kind of person your protagonist wants to become. In Star Wars, Darth Vader is (ironically) a clone character for Luke, a warning to him not to give into anger and the dark side. In Game of Thrones, Margaery Tyrell is a clone of Sansa Stark; one knows how to play the game and the other is blinded by fantasy. Jon Snow has various clones, including Tyrion, who serves as something of a mirror opposite, and Maester Aemon, another spare son who becomes his mentor. In short, your hero’s clone is one version of his future.
Why use a clone character? For one, the clone is a great shortcut to character. “Anyone can tell the main character they’re charting the wrong course through dialogue, but glimpsing the potential results of those choices manifested in some other character can make the message more meaningful,” Leigh says.
Clone characters can highlight your hero’s development; spotlight their flaws; heighten internal conflict; show the consequences of failure; and contribute to the plot and subplots. Clone characters can also provide foreshadowing. “Their decisions add an extra layer of suspense when the protagonist must make the same or a similar choice,” Leigh notes.
If you’re considering adding a clone character, Leigh suggests a few questions to ask:
- What are your hero’s greatest needs, fears, flaws, wounds, or weaknesses?
- What is your hero’s strongest internal conflict?
- What are the stakes for failure?
- Will the clone character serve as a cautionary tale, mirror, role model, or mentor?
- Is the clone pivotal to the plot? (Your answer should be yes.)
- What does your hero learn from watching the clone?
